Thirty Years on White Eagle Drive
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church sits on the southeast side of Bloomington, Illinois, at the corner of Streid Drive and White Eagle Drive. The congregation, organized in the mid-1990s and rooted in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, has built its life around a single center: gathering each Sunday around God's Word and the Sacraments. Members describe the church as a liturgical congregation, and the rhythm of the week is shaped by a Sunday morning communion service, a season of Bible study and Sunday School afterward, and the gentle calendar of a Lutheran church year that adds Wednesday evenings in Advent and Lent.
From the southeast corner of Bloomington the church draws worshipers from across McLean County, and the building itself is part of the story. The brick and concrete block structure was raised in 2000 on ten acres purchased in 1996, and the windows installed in 2022 now let stained glass light fall on the nave where the congregation worships. A new pipe organ, dedicated in 2001, anchors the music program alongside the choir and soloists. For anyone driving south on I-55 or north from Veterans Parkway, the directions to the church are short and easy: Oakland Avenue curves to the right and becomes Streid Drive, and the church entrance is on the right.
How the Congregation Began
Good Shepherd began as a mission congregation of the Central Illinois District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in 1993. The mission developer, Rev. Clarence Mankin, worked out of the Wittenberg Lutheran Center on the campus of Illinois State University, and the first worship services were held at Wittenberg in 1994. The group moved to the Ramada Inn, then to Eastland Suites Hotel, and in September 1995 began meeting at the McLean County Farm Bureau Building, which served as the congregation's worship home for five years.
The congregation was chartered as a congregation of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod on February 19, 1995, and Pastor Mankin was installed as the first pastor on June 25, 1995. In 1998, health concerns required Pastor Mankin to step away from full-time ministry, and during that interval the vacancy was served by Rev. Dymann Jirovec, the campus pastor at Illinois State.
In November 1998, Rev. Chad D. Lueck, then serving at Hope Lutheran in Shawnee, Kansas, accepted the call to be the congregation's second pastor. He was installed on January 10, 1999, and has served Good Shepherd since. When he arrived, the congregation had an office and met each week at the Farm Bureau building, but the plans for a permanent home were already taking shape. In the summer of 1999 the congregation voted to proceed with a two-million-dollar building project, borrowing one-point-eight million from the District Church Extension Fund. Ground was broken at 3516 White Eagle Drive on September 19, 1999. The cornerstone was set on June 11, 2000, and the new House of Worship was dedicated on August 27, 2000, a structure that has served as the church's home ever since.
Other milestones have followed. A daycare center opened at Wittenberg in August 1995, moved to the new church in 2001, and closed in July 2006. A new pipe organ was dedicated to the glory of God on September 16, 2001. The congregation marked its tenth anniversary on February 19, 2005, and its twentieth with a celebration weekend on July 18 and 19, 2015. In a special worship service on July 15, 2018, the congregation gave thanks that half of the mortgage had been retired, and on June 26, 2022, new stained glass windows were dedicated to the glory of God. On August 24, 2025, the church gathered to celebrate its thirtieth anniversary as a congregation, with Bible study, a service, and a catered meal.
What a Sunday Morning Sounds Like
The Sunday morning service at Good Shepherd is a confessional liturgical service in the Lutheran tradition. The music is led by the church organist, Mary Anne Kirchner, who coordinates with choir director Steve Parry, special choirs, soloists, and instrumentalists to shape the music of each week. The congregation gathers at 9:00 am, and Holy Communion is celebrated at every service.
After worship, a brief fellowship time gives the people of the church a chance to greet one another, and at 10:15 am, Sunday School and Adult Bible Study begin for all ages. Nursery care is provided during the service and Sunday School for children younger than preschool age, and a regular rotation of acolytes, ushers, and elders assists the pastor in the conduct of worship.
The church year is observed in full. During the seasons of Advent and Lent, additional worship services are held on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 pm, giving the congregation a rhythm of preparation during those weeks. Other observances of the Christian year, including Reformation Day, All Saints Day, Holy Week, and the great feasts of Christmas and Easter, shape the calendar in their turn.
Services are livestreamed on YouTube, and the church maintains a long archive of recorded services, sermons, and sermon texts going back well over a decade. The collection of written sermons, prepared and posted by the pastor each week, allows members and visitors to revisit a particular message in its printed form.
What the Church Believes
Good Shepherd is anchored in the historic Christian faith as confessed by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. The church's statement of beliefs affirms that every word of the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God and is therefore absolutely true and without error. God is Triune: one God in three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Human beings were made by a special creative act, fell into sin, and became strangers from God, and every human being is a sinner from conception. The Gospel is the power of God to save sinners.
The church confesses that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, equal to the Father in every respect, both God and man in His Person, and that He took the punishment for our sins by suffering and dying in our place on the cross. He rose bodily from the dead and lives today. Justification, the church teaches, is by God's grace alone, for the sake of Christ alone, received by faith alone, and every truly repentant sinner is assured of God's forgiveness in Christ.
Two Sacraments are administered. Holy Baptism is a Sacrament of God divinely instituted and for all ages. The Lord's Supper is a Sacrament instituted by Christ in which His true body and blood are present in and with the bread and wine. Communion is celebrated at every Sunday service at Good Shepherd.
Learning the Faith at Every Age
Bible study and Christian education have been a part of the congregation's life from its beginning. The Sunday School and Adult Bible Study hour runs from 10:15 am to 11:15 am on Sunday mornings, after the worship service, and is open to all ages.
For those who want a second weekly time in the Word, a Small Group Bible Study meets on Sunday evenings during the school year, typically from 5:00 to 7:00 pm on the first and third Sundays. The group follows a topical study and reads a study book together, and members are invited to speak with the pastor to get the current schedule.
A Ladies Morning Bible Study meets from September through May on the first and third Tuesdays at 9:30 am, gathering for a time of study and fellowship. The church's quilting group also meets on the first Thursday of the month at 1:00 pm, a long-running ministry of the women of the congregation. From time to time the church also offers Vacation Bible School and other seasonal programs for children and families.
Boards, Committees, and Groups
The life of the congregation is carried by a network of boards, committees, and small groups. The Church Council manages the business of the congregation and oversees the other boards. The Board of Elders assists the pastor with worship and tends to the spiritual needs of the members. The Board of Stewardship works on programs related to the gifts of time, talent, and treasure that God has given. The Board of Evangelism looks for ways to spread the Word of God in the community through outreach programs. The Board of Education oversees the administration of Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and other educational ministries outside of worship. The Board of Trustees oversees matters relating to the physical property of the church.
In addition to the boards, a number of groups help the church function from week to week. Ushers assist with communion and the distribution of bulletins. Acolytes assist with lighting the candles during the worship service. The choir contributes to worship through song. The Altar Guild prepares the altar for worship, including paraments and the setup for communion. The Prayer Chain offers prayer for requested needs, and a Prayer Circle Group is available to receive prayer requests either through the church office or by leaving a note in the prayer box in the narthex. Nursery attendants provide supervision for young children during the service and Sunday School hour.
Missions and Outreach Beyond Bloomington
Three long-standing mission organizations of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod are supported by Good Shepherd. The Lutheran Women's Missionary League, or LWML, is a national organization of LCMS women that supports missions through prayer, mites, and service, and the women of Good Shepherd take part in its life and conventions.
The Lutheran Laymen's League, or LLL, supports the Lutheran Hour Ministries and its related outreach programs. The local LLL zone group hosts information and outreach booths at the McLean County Fair and the Illinois State Fair in Springfield, distributing English and Spanish information about Lutheran Hour Ministries. The zone group also sponsors an annual Reformation Service, an Oktoberfest, and a Spring Rally, and helps support the Lutheran Hour Float in the Rose Bowl Parade each New Year. The Men's Network and Women to Woman programs are part of the LLL's outreach.
Camp CILCA, the district camp of the Central Illinois District, is co-sponsored by the CID and the LLL. The local LLL participates in fundraisers for the camp, including a hog roast in May and a chicken fry and auction in September.
The Lutheran Bible Translators, or LBT, is supported through prayer and financial gifts, sent to the LBT office in Concordia, Missouri. Since 1964, LBT has worked to make the Word of God accessible in the languages of the heart, with a particular focus on oral societies whose languages have no written form, using audio and visual technology, vernacular worship songs and liturgy, and culturally appropriate programs.
The church has also hosted community events such as the Outreach Weekend, a weekend of faith, fun, and fellowship, and has partnered with organizations including the Red Cross for blood drives.
The People Who Lead and Serve
Rev. Chad D. Lueck has served as pastor of Good Shepherd since January 10, 1999. Before his call to Bloomington, he served parishes in Littlefield, Texas, at Emmanuel Lutheran, and in Shawnee, Kansas, at Hope Lutheran. He is a 1987 graduate of Illinois State University, where he studied Communications and Broadcasting, and in July 1991 he graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with an emphasis in the Practical Department. He was ordained on September 1, 1991, and installed at his first call on September 8, 1991. He has also served the church at large as a circuit visitor, circuit secretary, pastoral adviser for the Beta Sigma Psi Lutheran Fraternity, and as an LWML and LLL zone counselor, and on the CID District Church Extension Fund Board. He and his wife, Toni, have been married since August 10, 1991, and have two sons, Karson and Holden.
Janet Evans serves as the office manager and is in the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, or by appointment. Karen Dale serves as the church secretary, working on Mondays from 8:30 am to 12:00 pm, on Thursdays from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm, and on Fridays from 8:30 am to 12:00 pm. Mary Anne Kirchner serves as the church organist, coordinating with the choir director, special choirs, soloists, and instrumentalists to provide music for worship. Steve Parry serves as choir director.
A Place in the Heart of Bloomington
For more than three decades, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church has been a quiet but steady presence in Bloomington, gathering each Sunday around the gifts of Word and Sacrament that the Lutheran confession treasures. The congregation has grown from a mission start in 1993 to a settled body that owns its own building, has retired the larger part of its building mortgage, and has dedicated a new organ and new stained glass windows in the past two decades. It is a church that takes its liturgy seriously, that values its Bible studies and Sunday School classes, that supports the mission organizations of its church body, and that welcomes every visitor with the same words that have opened the service for thirty years: the words of the liturgy itself, telling of a God who loved the world so much that He gave His only Son.